Rookie pilot caused Lion crash
JAKARTA, 16 May 2013: Indonesian authorities blamed poor training for a crash in which a rookie pilot undershot the runway and landed in the sea off the resort island of Bali last month, according to a report seen Wednesday.
All 108 passengers and crew survived the spectacular 13 April crash, which split the new Boeing 737-800 in two and was a major blow to Lion Air, which has signed record plane orders but is trying to shake off its poor safety record.
The preliminary investigation by the National Transport Safety Committee found the 24-year-old Indian national at the plane’s helm was forced to hand control to the Indonesian captain since he could not see the runway upon descent.
Miles of smiles to Mandalay
BANGKOK, 17 April 2013: It seems like a thousand moons have waxed and waned since I was last in Mandalay so when THAI Smile invited me to join the inaugural flight to Myanmar’s second city I accepted.
Yes I knew it would mean I would have to say something nice about THAI Smile, but that turned out to be easy enough. Three smiling cabin attendants dressed in brilliant orange uniforms were assigned to escort us for the duration of the trip. We were treated to permanent manicured smiles regardless of the weather conditions. No wonder the press release noted the uniforms “draw customer attention.”
Then THAI Smile has seven brand new 168-seat A320s in its fleet and that will grow to 10 this year, 17 next and 20 by 2015.
Nok knocks fare down
April 9, 2013 by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
Filed under Travel Deals
BANGKOK, 9 April 2013: Nok Air offers discounts for travel to Nakhon Si Thammarat in South Thailand valid for travel until 30 April.
The promotion offers a discount of Bt200 per person, per round trip, inclusive of airport tax ex-Don Mueang Airport to Nakhon Si Thammarat on flights DD7804, DD7818 and DD7819.
A discount of Bt100 per person is applicable on other flights to the same destination.
PM outlines tourism strategy
March 25, 2013 by Wanwisa Ngamsangchaikit
Filed under Government, News, Thailand
BANGKOK, 25 March 2013: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, late last week, to adopt four key strategies to build the country’s tourism industry.
She told officials it was imperative to reach the government’s target of Bt2 trillion in tourism revenue by 2015. To achieve the goal the ministry was told to adopt the follow policies:
• Increase tourist length of stay;
Qantas chief backs Dreamliner
SYDNEY, 7 February 2013: Qantas chief Alan Joyce has thrown his support behind Boeing and its troubled 787 Dreamliner, reinforcing his commitment to introducing the planes to the Australian flag-carrier’s fleet.
The next generation plane suffered a series of glitches last month, prompting a global alert from the US Federal Aviation Administration that led to the worldwide grounding of all 50 operational 787s.
Qantas has 14 of the planes on order, with delivery due this year, and has retained options and purchase rights for 50 B787s of either -8 or -9 variants available for delivery from 2016.
MH buys more ATRs
KUALA LUMPUR, 21 December 2012: Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday said it will buy 36 new ATR turboprop aircraft for more than US$900 million as it looks to boost profits by further expanding its regional and domestic networks.
Of the 36 ATR-72-600 planes, the carrier said 20 will go to low-cost subsidiary Firefly, which is fast expanding its lucrative routes, while 16 are for MASwings, another low-cost carrier that flies to Sarawak and Sabah on Borneo island.
The three-billion-ringgit purchase comes after the struggling flag carrier in November said it had swung back to a profit, ending six straight quarterly losses after slashing unprofitable routes to cut costs.
Qantas cuts ties with Tourism Australia
SYDNEY, 28 November 2012: Qantas Airways on Wednesday severed a lucrative marketing deal that supports Tourism Australia after claiming its boss was leading a consortium trying to unseat the airline’s management and buy out the company.
The airline backed Tourism Australia’s marketing campaigns financially for decades, which included sponsored thousands of foreign travel agency trips to Australia and free travel for international media and travel buyers to attend the country’s annual premier travel show known as Australian Travel Exchange.
The carrier said it had advised the country’s official tourism agency it was halting the A$50 million (US$52 million) deal “due to a potential conflict of interest of the agency’s chairman”, former Qantas chief Geoff Dixon.
Travel without an airline
JUBA, 27 November 2012: A Briton celebrated Monday claiming to be the first person to have visited every sovereign nation on the globe without flying, after he crossed into the world’s youngest country, South Sudan.
Graham Hughes, 33, took almost four years to tick 201 countries off his list, including all 193 members of the United Nations, as well as destinations including Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan, Vatican City and Western Sahara.
“I’ve been travelling now for 1,426 days, that’s 203 weeks, almost four years,” said the cowboy-hat wearing globetrotter as he quaffed warm fizzy wine in the tropical heat, soon after crossing the border from Uganda.
Harness up for TG’s A380 flight
FIVE years into its career as the world’s largest commercial aircraft the Airbus A380 still turns heads as it taxis to its bay at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Eight enormous yellow canvas tentacles deliver cool air to the aircraft as it parks next to a double-deck air bridge waiting for passengers to board for the short two-hour flight to Singapore.
THAI’s first Airbus A380 was delivered last month and was immediately commissioned to fly the Hong Kong and Singapore routes until mid-December when it will be permanently assigned to serve Frankfurt. The airline claims that using it on heavy density regional routes will help the cabin crew, all 24 of them, to familiarise themselves with the aircraft layout and iron out hitches before it serves long-haul routes.
IATA: Delivering passenger value
October 3, 2012 by TTRweekly Staff
Filed under Aviation, Middle east, News
ABU DHABI, 3 October 2012: International Air Transport Association is preparing to welcome more than 600 airline, aviation partners and government delegates worldwide to attend the second IATA World Passenger Symposium, 16 to 18 October, at the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Hotel, Abu Dhabi.
“The World Passenger Symposium is an opportunity for all aviation stakeholders to explore ways to strengthen the industry in terms of its profitability and its value to passengers,” said, IATA director general and CEO, Tony Tyler.
“Global passengers are nearing 3 billion annually. Providing value that meets the changing needs of these passengers is a catalyst for innovation. And in a complex industry, innovation requires cooperation and partnerships across the value chain that is supported by a strong common vision. The World Passenger Symposium plays a vital role in bringing the industry together to build the future,” said Tyler.
